Rubio had agreed to attend the event hosted by the Conservative Review, but ended up bailing at the last minute.

Members of Ted Cruz's campaign jumped on Rubio's absence. One spokesman said, "This is a final admission that Marco Rubio isn't even going to try to compete for the votes of conservatives in South Carolina or anywhere else."

@TurningPointUSA wearing my big government sucks sticker at the #ConservativeConvention in Greenville

#ConservativeConvention where was @marcorubio ?

@tedcruz the man of the hour is on stage! #ConservativeConvention @cr https://t.co/QkB8GNRpwi

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The Rubio campaign said a scheduling issue was the reason he wasn't able to make it. He reportedly tried to have someone else speak on his behalf, but the event's organizers said no.

BuzzFeed noted that most of the event's attendees appeared to be Cruz supporters with a smaller portion favoring Ben Carson. Cruz and Carson were the only two candidates at the event, and some speculated that might've been the reason behind Rubio's absence.